Beloved Manchester restaurant which closed its doors a year ago reopens in new spot

'I have been waiting for this time to come for so long'

A beloved restaurant in south Manchester which closed its doors has reopened in a new location not far from their original site.

The Thirsty Korean gained a reputation amongst diners for being ‘iconic’ and a ‘hidden gem’ for its restaurant on Manchester Road in Chorlton. First opened in 2019, the venue was helmed by Eunji Noh for five years.

But Eunji, whose restaurant was at the centre of a campaign from Sacha Lord giving out free meals to locals, decided to close the popular restaurant last year due to the end of the venue’s lease.

Upon closing the doors last March, Eunji promised customers she would be back with a new premises after going on a break and spending time with her family. She has now announced that The Thirsty Korean is back in business, with a new location now on Wilbraham Road.

Taking over the former Vietnamese Potbellied spot, which itself closed in September last year, the restaurant carries on Eunji’s tradition of Korean-inspired dishes with an expansion of what people have come to expect. It is situated opposite the The Lloyds pub.

“We have been looking for a new venue with a bigger kitchen for some time,” Eunji said. “I have plenty of ideas for Korean food to offer, but the kitchen always needed to be able to support this.

“As Korea is a peninsula, we usually eat lots of seafood but here, when it comes to Korean food, most people tend to know more about beef, pork and chicken, like Korean BBQ. But we will have things like fresh mackerel with a spicy sauce on top called Gogalbi.

“I wanted to show some real and authentic Korean food to customers alongside quality drinks and service.”

The venue’s drinks menu will include a range of draught beer and the likes of Soju, whilst the food menu will branch across the likes of soups, noodles and rice dishes. The venue is currently open as part of a soft opening phase, with walk-in’s only, as staff get to grips with the new unit.

“We are starting our business by soft opening as we are all new to work in this kitchen, therefore we can not guarantee the fast speed of food service,” Eunji said. “What we can guarantee here is that there will be great quality with our dishes.

“I have been waiting for this time to come for so long. We are now finally open and I am glad that we could see people who I have missed very much.”

The Thirsty Korean is on 520 Wilbraham Road, Chorlton, M21 9AW.